LRV field report - 2/12-13

Mike Soukup mikayak at mdo.net
Thu Feb 17 11:17:53 EST 2000


Ahh Mark.  I see you are going to have to get the special "Swiss Army Butterfly
Net" with retractable Machete grip handle and "easy-off" skeleton key net ring.

Hmmm.....another fine marketing idea!!

Mark Walker wrote:

> Well, it wasn't nearly as productive as my trip here last month - but I did
> see many butterflies (which is something special for all who must endure
> three more months of winter).  So, for whatever it's worth to anyone out
> there, I will post my sightings once again.
>
> The spiders not withstanding, this trip was largely uneventful.  There was
> that moment on Sunday on the outskirts of Brownsville, when after a few
> hours in the 90 degree F sunshine I returned to the rental car only to find
> that I had locked the keys in the back seat.  This is a very bad situation.
> It happens when one is in the habit of maintaining two sets of garments -
> those that are used for driving and those that are used for trekking.  The
> driving outfit consists of very little - sandals, shorts - that's about it.
> The trekking outfit gets modified by climate, temperature, hostile flora,
> and biting bug concentration.  The problem occurs when one becomes flippant
> about the transition from one outfit to the other.  Especially when one
> removes the car keys from the shorts and forgets to transfer them to the
> bushwhackers (leaving them in plain view on the back seat of the rental
> car).
>
> So there I am, peering through the very tightly sealed window at my keys on
> the back seat.  Of course, I'm in the middle of nowhere (the outskirts of
> Brownsville can be pretty remote), and everything that I might ever need is
> quite secure inside the vehicle.  Everything, except my butterfly net - of
> course.
>
> Well, I explored the area, looking for whatever device might be handy in the
> thorn scrub that might be used to break into the car (preferably, without
> breaking the windows).  Of course, you can only do some much with stalks of
> grass and yucca shoots.  After much frustration, and a little prayer, it
> finally occurred to me that the wire rim of my butterfly net might come in
> handy.  And what do you know.  After pulling off the netting, I managed to
> work the wire rim between the glass and the molding of the drivers side
> window, rotate it a bit, and use it to push down on the automatic lock
> button to unlock the door.  I had to reshape it a bit before re-dispatching
> it as an insect trapping device, but yet another bullet dodged thanks to
> this ever handy contraption.
>
> I don't want to admit how many other similar predicaments I have put myself
> into.  We'll just leave that one alone.
>
> So here's what I saw - on two days in Brownsville, Las Palomas, San Benito,
> and Armstrong, TX.
>
> Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail)
> Battus philenor (Pipevine Swallowtail)
> Pontia protodice (Checkered White)
> Ascia monuste (Great Southern White)
> Ganyra josephina (Giant White)
> Phoebis philea (Orange Barred Sulphur)
> Phoebis agarithe (Large Orange Sulphur)
> Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur)
> Colias eurytheme (Orange Sulphur)
> Zerene cesonia (Southern Dogface)
> Eurema lisa (Little Yellow)
> Nathalis iole (Dainty Sulphur)
> Strymon columella istapa (Columella Hairstreak)
> Strymon melinus (Gray Hairstreak)
> Calycopis cecrops (isobeon?) Red Banded (or Dusky Blue) Hairstreak
> Hemiargus isola (Reakirt's Blue)
> Hemiargus ceraunus (Ceraunus Blue)
> Calephelis nemesis (Fatal Metalmark)
> Phyciodes phaon (Phaon Crescentspot)
> Phyciodes texana (Texan Crescentspot)
> Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye)
> Junonia genoveva (Tropical Buckeye)
> Agraulis vanillae (Gulf Fritillary)
> Euptoieta claudia (Variegated Fritillary)
> Chlosyne lacinia (Bordered Patch)
> Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)
> Anartia jatrophae (White Peacock)
> Anaea andria (Goatweed Leafwing)
> Hermeuptychia hermes (Southern Satyr)
> Danaus plexippus (Monarch)
> Danaus gilippus (Queen)
> Pyrgus communis (Common Checkered Skipper)
> Pyrgus oileus (Tropical Checkered Skipper)
> Lerodea dysaules (Olive Clouded Skipper)
> Hylephila phyleus (Fiery Skipper)
> Copaeodes minima (Southern Skipperling)
> Chioides catillus (White Striped Longtail)
> Amblyscirtes sp? (unid'd Roadside Skipper)
> Urbanus procne (Brown Longtail)
> Pholisora catullus (Common Sooty Wing)
> Erynnis funeralis (Funereal Duskywing)
>
> Mark Walker.


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